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Freestyle Camp Has Science in Forefront

by

USSA

2012-09-21 10:46

Freestyle aerials athlete, Mike Rossi (Long Valley, NJ) tests out new technology at the water ramps at the Utah Olympic Park. (Sarah Ely)

PARK CITY, UT (Sept. 21) – The U.S. Freestyle Team utilized one of their final water camps before the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Cup season to engage high tech data collection with U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Sports Science staff. The first to utilize the technology was aerials athlete Mike Rossi (Long Valley, NJ), who attached a miniature magnetic inertial navigation system to his ski boot. The system tracked the g-forces on his body during the in-run and at landing. Rossi will do the same test on snow in the next few months. By knowing how strong athletes need to be to withstand these kinds of forces, athletes and coaches can focus on technique, while decreasing injury rates.

HIGHLIGHTS

U.S. Freestyle athletes worked with USSA Sports Science to utilize a magnetic inertial navigation system to test the amount of g-forces on their bodies during the take-off and at landing.

The data will better enable coaches to condition athletes, therefore allowing the athletes to focus on technique rather than injury prevention.

Aerialist Mike Rossi (Long Valley, NJ) was the first to test the new equipment.

The data collection session as one of the numerous ways USSA Sports Science works to boost athlete performance.

The first FIS Freestyle World Cup of the season is Dec. 15 in Ruka, Finland. Both moguls and aerials will be back in the U.S. for the USANA Lake Placid World Cup (Jan 17-19) and the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley, UT (Jan. 31 – Feb. 3).

QUOTESTroy Flanagan, High Performance DirectorWe have wondered about these questions for years and the technology is finally here to answer them. What better place to find these answers than at a summer water ramp session with support from the entire freestyle program.

Mike RossiHaving the sports science staff out here supporting us is really huge. They're working hard to keep us safe. With this being a World Championship year, it's important to look for all possible ways to boost our training.It's sweet having the whole mogul team out here training with us. It shows that as a freestyle program we all work extremely hard in the off season.

Todd Schirman, Freestyle Program DirectorThese last three weeks of water ramping are key. To have the coaching collaboration across both sports is really important before the World Cup season begins. And the support from Sports Science is huge. Everyone benefits from that especially before they take their tricks from water to snow.